so ive been flying for about two years now, mostly recreational stuff, got my part 107 last spring and ive done a few paid gigs for friends and a local real estate agent who needed some property shots. nothing crazy but people keep asking me if i do this professionally and honestly i think i could make something out of it if i actually set it up properly.

the thing is i have no idea how to structure any of it. like do i need an LLC right away or can i just operate as a sole proprietor for a while to see if it sticks. and insurance is confusing me ? ive looked at Skywatch and Verifly and a couple others but i dont really know if i need hull coverage on top of liability or if liability alone is enough when youre just starting out. the real estate agent ive been shooting for mentioned she'd refer me to other agents in her office but id want to have everything legit before i start taking on more clients.

also pricing ? this is the part that kills me. i have no clue what to charge. i dont want to undercut the market and make it bad for other operators but i also dont want to price myself out before i even have a portfolio. any of you go through this? what did the early days look like for you

went through almost exactly this about three years ago. okay so first thing ? sole proprietor is fine to start, it's less overhead and honestly until you're making consistent money the LLC stuff can wait. that said, once you start getting referrals and repeat clients you really do want that liability separation, so maybe plan to form the LLC around the 6 month mark or whenever you land your first real contract.

on insurance, for real estate work liability-only is usually what most property managers and agents will ask for anyway. a 1 million general liability policy from someone like Skywatch or even a yearly policy through USAIG is what a lot of guys use. hull coverage is worth it if your drone is expensive and you cant afford to replace it out of pocket ? i fly a Mavic 3 Pro and i carry hull just because i'd be pretty upset if i binned it on a job and had no recourse.

pricing for real estate ? dont go below $150 for a basic photo package in my opinion, and that's on the low end. most markets are $200-350 for stills, more if you add video. scope out what's being advertised in your area on google, a lot of guys list their packages publicly. and seriously, the referral network from one good real estate contact is no joke, that agent sounds like a solid foot in the door.

not sure about all the business stuff but i'm kind of in the same boat as you and just wanted to say i've been looking at the drone-specific insurance through Thimble and it seemed pretty flexible for people just starting out since you can do it per-job instead of committing to a full year policy. might be worth a look while you figure out if the volume is there to justify annual coverage